I Am Who I Am; No More, No Less

You are upset for having to have some confrontation, some choice to make, to stand up for what you feel is right, even when it means going against loved ones, family, friends, or bosses and co-workers! Although, what you think seems wise, it is not: you know no one confronts anyone. People are Souls, not bodies. Souls are eternal, bodies only house the Soul. The truly wise mourn neither for the friend nor the family. Just as the Soul remains in the body as it changes from childhood to old age. So, too, the Soul remains as we change from one body to another.

Remember that we experience physical sensations such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain through our senses. They are temporal, because they have a beginning and an ending. These experiences will eventually pass. If the mind is focused solely on ever-changing sensory experiences, it will not be possible to quiet the mental chatter long enough to realize one’s eternal Soul. That which is real, is non-changing is eternal; that which is unreal is nonpermanent. So the ever-changing world can be said to be nonexistent, because it is not permanent. Only the Soul can be said to exist, because it is the one thing that does not change. Knowing that the Souls of those you love are eternal and cannot ever die, fight this injustice.

The Soul is eternal; it always existed, and always will exist. It doesn’t move, create, or change anything. So if a person is really the Soul, how can the Soul-Person be confronted if the Soul doesn’t do anything other than exist? When clothes wear out, we don’t grieve too much about it; we simply buy new clothes. So too, the body is a covering for the Soul to wear in order for Self-Realization to have a form to realize its true eternal Soul. So when the body becomes old and unable to be a sturdy home for the Soul, the Soul casts off the old worn-out body and takes on a new one to continue the path to realize one’s true eternal nature.

Now, if this talk of Soul is too abstract, let us think from the mundane vantage; even from this view, there is no cause for grieving. From the point of view of life and death, we know that everything is born, lives, and eventually dies. So why grieve over the inevitable? If you should confront a course you feel is unethical, defending the helpless or the righteous, if you are disliked for doing your life-purpose, your God-given duties, then you shall go to heaven. If you are victorious, you shall enjoy heaven on earth. So for all these reasons resolve your mind and heart and fight the good fight knowing the true permanent nature of the Soul and the ever-changing and impermanent nature of life and see no difference between pleasure and pain, and winning and losing. Focus on the eternal, focus on inevitability, focus on duty, and you cannot incur sin. Sin is a function of the ever-changing world. It occurs when you focus on or get stuck in the relative world: this is sin. Acting beyond change, acting for eternity, takes you beyond sin. This is known as Self-Realization.

Now the spiritual kernel of Vedic philosophy is presented in the mechanics of how bondage is caused and how one can remove the bonds to realize their true nature, the eternal Soul. Let us now talk about yoga the action that merges the inner self with the universal Self, the realization of this eternal nature of Self. If you are sincere, even a small amount of time devoted to yoga delivers you from fear. For this wisdom will free you from the bondage of actions of cause and effect. Focus on your goals, or on the things that must be done without distraction. Avoid people’s words spoken or written just because they sound nice; that is, if they are the words of a charismatic person or a sweet talker. Listen to the essence or substance of what is being communicated for true value.

Some people only do good to gain fame and power. Some aim for heaven; a temporary resting place before returning to earth for continuing on the path of Self-Realization, rather than aim to realize their eternal life. Some people use knowledge as power or prestige or to gain wealth. How many people do you see worshipping knowledge above all else; above ethics, spirit, or compassion. In our modern age, intellectual knowledge is prized over common experience. The Vedic notion is that the highest, most important knowledge is Self-knowledge, because it is the only permanent knowledge. If a person does not seek this permanence, then of what value is intellectual knowledge? If this knowledge does not provide a lasting experience, what good is it? So Krishna says that even the most spiritual of books are only words unless they provide an eternal experience; that is a very profound view of the priority of one’s relationship with their Soul compared to the relevance of spiritual books.

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